Tumkur :A first for the state and India – a floating solar power station. The Karnataka government has called for proposals to set up a 2 Megawatt (MW) capacity floating solar plant. The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development (KREDL), under the energy department, intends to set up the plant at Nittur Lake in Gubbi taluk of Tumkur district, a two-hour drive (98 km) from Bangalore.
This follows, but does not imitate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to install solar panels along the Narmada canal of Gujarat while he was chief minister
According to the power minister D K Shivakumar, the floating solar project is one the many ambitious projects of the state government, especially after the revised Solar Policy announced recently. Chief minister Siddaramaiah had announced the same in his budget of 2014-15.
It is learnt that this is a pilot project. If it turns out to be a success, similar plants will be set up across the state. The local population will be the beneficiaries of this pilot project.
Sources in the energy department revealed that the project would involve designing, engineering, supplying, fabricating, installing, testing and commissioning of the project in five years. “We have called for proposals now. And depending on the response, we will finalize the bidder and execute the project.” Shivkumar said
As per the bid condition, the developer must generate not less than 14,00,000 units per annum. The project would feature photovoltaic-mounted panels as per the latest international standards on a floating platform with anchoring facility. Currently, the Hemavathi river water draining the lake is utilized for both drinking and irrigation purposes and reportedly only small portion of the lake will be utilized.
Meanwhile, the union government too has in mind, the construction of 25 solar parks generating 1000 MW each in Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and J & K over the next five years. State and Central governments are expected to jointly build these parks where land would be provided by the state governments and the commissioning and evacuation of the electricity generated would be handled by the central government.
